In Bruges

Dark comedy will have you intrigued but not always in stitches

By Matt Pais

Critic's Rating:

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Ordered by their ruthless, London-based boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to lay low in Bruges, Belgium, after a recent job, hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) pass the time while waiting for Harry's instructions. Ken is the veteran and looks after Ray, who hates Bruges, seems to pick a fight everywhere he goes and becomes mixed up with a potential drug dealer/love interest (Clemence Poesy), a grumpy American dwarf and other, um, colorful characters.

Big question: Can this comedy/thriller prove that its opening-night slot at this year's Sundance Film Festival was because of its quality, not just its quirkiness?

Catch it: Writer-director Martin McDonagh peppers wit and whiskey into his overwritten dialogue, which is saved by actors that make vivid people out of generic characters. The film doesn't have the consistent laughs of Ben Kingsley's hitman comedy "You Kill Me," but Gleeson makes a great counterpoint to Farrell, who continues to show that he knows how to add layers to bastards like Ray, who can down six pints and seven bottles without getting drunk and doesn't hesitate to hit a woman if it's in self-defense.

Skip it: Black comedies don't have to be mean-spirited--grim humor has a way of trying to make the best of a bad situation--but "In Bruges" continually falls back on questionable racial humor and gags about how much Ray hates Bruge. OK, we get it.

Bottom line: "In Bruges" is the kind of quickly forgotten movie that's not really good or bad, so you pick if something so mildly entertaining is worth your time. It has a few profound moments about the relativity of happiness, though, and for what it's worth it's not often you get to see an angry Irish hitman doing coke while hanging with Dutch prostitutes and a racist dwarf.

Bonus: Ray explains that he has no interest in history because it's just "a load 'a stuff that's already happened." Besides, Stallone was clearly living in the past when he made "Rambo," and look how that turned out!

What do you think of "In Bruges"? Email me: mpais@tribune.com